


Dead Man Walking

by xxDustNight88



Series: Make the Dust Fly [42]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Break Up, M/M, One Shot, Song fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 17:31:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18665080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/pseuds/xxDustNight88
Summary: Draco and Bucky have to decide if they're really going to work through their issues. Ultimately, love is not a game.





	Dead Man Walking

**Author's Note:**

> Bucky and Draco angst anyone? Yes, please! Written for #MMFBingo18!
> 
> Thank you to GaeilgeRua for allowing me use of her Grammarly subscription to beta read this. Any other mistakes you find are definitely my own. Much love, xxDustNight
> 
> Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, and information belongs to those at Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers, or J.K. Rowling. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.
> 
> Prompt: MMF N4: Bucky/Draco  
> Song Recommendation: Youngblood by 5 Seconds of Summer

"Draco."

His name was said simply as if there had never been any love between the two of them. Swallowing back unsettled emotions, Draco turned away from the fireplace to stare at his longtime lover. Bucky Barnes stood in the doorway, his brown eyes cold and seemingly uncaring. Instead of replying because he honestly didn't trust his voice, Draco merely quirked an eyebrow in response.

"I asked if you heard what I said," Bucky reiterated as if Draco hadn't been there for the past five minutes. To be truthful, he hadn't been mentally present. He'd been thinking on all the times that Bucky had told him he would love him until the day he died.

"I heard you," Draco said coldly, his eyes narrowed into slits as he grew angry. Refocusing on the conversation, he added, "You don't know if you'll be back this time. I want to say that I'm surprised, but I'm not."

Bucky seemed taken about by the turn in his demeanour. He hesitated, almost as if he wanted to say something more but then shook his head instead. "Fine. Goodbye," he finally decided on with a resolute look on his face. Bucky turned away then, vacating the doorway and leaving Draco entirely alone.

It wasn't until the front door of the townhome slammed that Draco finally moved. Striding forward, he headed for the front room. There, he watched as Bucky walked down the sidewalk to wherever his next mission was taking him. An ache filled the space in Draco's chest where he knew his heart should be and he angrily yanked the curtains shut. He recalled a time when Bucky would have kissed him goodbye and said 'see ya later, babe' instead of 'this time I might not make it back.'

It didn't matter. Obviously, Draco meant very little to the Winter Soldier. The countless nights spent in one another's arms whispering words of affection and promises of a better tomorrow thrown away for the sake of the cause. As fury sliced through him once more, Draco stormed back to the fireplace in his study and threw a handful of floo powder inside. He wasn't going to sit idle while Bucky ran off to save the world. Again. He was going to meet up with Blaise and get rightly pissed.

. . . .

Sitting across the table, Bucky tried to listen to Steve and Tony as they briefed the team on the mission they were supposed to set out on tomorrow. Only, his thoughts kept drifting back to Draco and the fact that he'd left on a rather bad note. This wasn't the first time in recent months that he and his lover had issues. In fact, it was becoming more and more familiar with each passing mission.

When Tony and Steve dismissed him, he only had a vague sense of where he was going. Instead of retiring to his room at the facility, he jumped in a jeep and drove toward town. He needed a drink or three to get over whatever mood he was in right now. It wouldn't do well to toss and turn all night. At least by getting a bit drunk,, he'd pass out at some point. He'd catch a cab back an send for the car later.

When he stepped into the bar, he was surprised at the sight before him. At the bar, already seated, was his lover. Draco was surrounded by his friends Blaise and Theo, as well as s few other guys Bucky wasn't familiar with. Confused, he headed over to say hello. He stopped short when he noticed Draco's hand on one of the unknown male's thighs, Furious now, Bucky stormed past the group toward the back exit. He made sure Draco saw him though before slipping out the back door.

Obviously, while he'd been off saving the world, Draco was getting off on other men. He would find another bar. One without Draco Malfoy.

. . . .

Draco hadn't expected to see Bucky at the pub. After his lover had disappeared out the back, Draco removed his hand from Marcus's though and ordered another drink. Maybe being with someone else wasn't the best idea. He still planned on getting drunk tonight though. After Bucky returned from his mission (if he did), then they could talk things through. Maybe.

It was about three drinks later that Draco pulled out his mobile and sent the first text.

Where are you?

When there was no reply after three minutes, he sent another.

Why were you at the pub? Did you see me?

And another.

It's not what you think.

When still after a good half an hour Draco still hadn't heard from Bucky, he decided to try calling. One call led to another until he was leaving multiple voice messages. When the inbox filled up, he kept on calling. Eventually, Blaise took him home and placed the phone on the armrest of the sofa. Draco proceeded to black on the cushions.

. . . .

Across town, Bucky sat at the bar still nursing his first drink. He'd received every text and message from Draco, listening to them all until his head hurt and his stomach was sick. How had they fallen so far from what they'd been?

Paying his tab, Bucky threw back the last dregs of his beer and left the bar. He had no intentions of returning the facility tonight. He needed to go home and see Draco. There was something brewing between them that needed to be fixed. If that made him weak, so be it. He loved that wizard and would make sure Draco knew it. If Draco chose to shut him out and be with someone else, he would say his goodbyes once and for all.

He let himself into the townhouse and found Draco passed out on the sofa. His phone was on the headrest, no new calls or messages flashing on the screen. Then again, why would there be? Bucky hadn't returned any of the hundreds he'd received from the blond. Gently, he shook his lover awake.

"It's me."

Draco rose slowly, clearly intoxicated and groggy. "Bucky?"

"Yes," he wanted to say something funny but felt like there was a storm approaching. "I came back to check on you."

Draco was more awake now and rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand. Then, he stood and stretched, picking up his mobile before tossing it aside in anger. "You could have called or replied to the many texts I sent you."

"Would that really have changed the way you're feeling right now?" Bucky questioned, watching as Draco went to stare out the window. "I felt it was better to come in person for this conversation."

"What conversation is that?" Draco snapped, not bothering to turn around. Instead, he just shot a glare over his left shoulder.

"The one where you explain what you were doing with that man at the bar tonight," Bucky stated clearly. He wasn't about to beat around the bush. He had to get back to the facility at some point tonight.

"I wasn't doing anything," Draco mumbled just loud enough to hear. "Not like you care anyway. You're always gone. What else am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for you?"

That hurt. "I thought we were more than just that, but I guess I was wrong," Bucky stated simply. Sighing heavily, he used his nonmetal hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "What do you want from me?"

"I want more than what we have now," Draco replied. "Or… I don't know… We should just-"

"I need to hear it, Draco," Bucky said, cutting him off and clenching his hands into fists. He figured he'd give Draco the option of ending things if that were what he wanted. It hurt to say all of this, but his lover needed this ultimatum. "Say you want me out of your life, and I'm gone. I won't bother you again."

Turning away from the window, Draco's grey eyes were piercing. "No, Bucky," he began, raking a hand through his tousled blond hair. "I need to hear you say you want me back in yours."

Bucky faltered, "What do you mean? I've always let you into my life." Before he'd even finished the sentence, Draco was shaking his head.

"No," he said. "You keep me at arm's length these days. I survived a war, Bucky." His voice was getting louder now, his anger bubbling over the surface. "I don't need you to try and protect me. I want to be involved in your life and not just left behind to wait for your return."

"We've talked about this before. I can't give you clearance to be an Avenger," Bucky practically growled. "That's not up to me. Hell, they don't even want my sorry ass there half the time. If it weren't for my specific skill set as a trained hitman, they wouldn't need me at all."

Draco didn't know what to say to that. He wanted to yell and scream, but that wasn't dignified of a Malfoy. No, he would have to just give Bucky once last shot at including him in his life. If he refused, then he would have to walk away from all of this. He may love Bucky, but it wasn't enough if the other man didn't want him there too.

"I want to be with you out there. If you can't give me this simple request, then I just need you to go," Draco said sounding defeated. "I can't do this anymore."

Something inside of Bucky broke then, but he didn't let it show. Years of practice allowed him to harden his features. He nodded once and then moved for the door. He couldn't grant Draco what he wanted, and so there was nothing left to talk about tonight. "If that's what you wish, then I'm gone. Goodbye, Draco."

This time when he left, there was no acknowledgement. Walking down the street toward the car, Bucky felt empty. He loved Draco, but he couldn't give this life up right now. There were too many threats still out there to protect the world from. There was no other way. He had to leave Draco behind. It wasn't good to go into a mission with a broken heart, but that is what he was about to do.

Tonight, he was a dead man walking.

**Author's Note:**

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